Dr Bob Hall

Research Fellow

Professional Background

Bob Hall graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1968. He served in Vietnam as an infantry platoon commander in the 8th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment. After further military service in Papua New Guinea, HQ 1st Division and Army Headquarters, Canberra, he left the Army in 1991 to pursue an academic career. His army career spanned over 20 years. He was formerly the Executive Director of the Australian Defence Studies Centre, UNSW Canberra until 2003.

In 2005 Bob was awarded a QEII Fellowship and an ARC research grant for a five-year project titled "Understanding Low-Intensity Conflict?. Bob leads a research team of Dr Andrew Ross (HASS), Dr Amy Griffin (PEMS), Dr Michael (Spike) Barlow, and Mr Derrill de Heer in the project, which examines the operational effectiveness of the Australian army in Vietnam and Confrontation.

Research Interests

The Australian army's role and performance in Vietnam and Confrontation. The Vietnam War. Confrontation. Combat effectiveness.

Publications

The Black Diggers: Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in the Second World War, (Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1989), Fighters from the fringe: Aborigines and Islanders recall their war service in the Second World War, (AIATSIS press, Canberra, 1995)

Combat Battalion: The Eighth Battalion in Vietnam, (Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 2000), and numerous book chapters and articles.

The report identifies fratricide incidents involving artillery (27 incidents), infantry (53), armour (6) and air (5) and then analyses those caused by infantry and armour to establish whether an infantry IFF system might reduce the number of these incidents in the future.
Dr R. Hall and Dr A. Ross, "Attacks on Prepared Defended Positions by Units of 1st ATF, 1966-1971?, Australian Defence Studies Centre, UNSW Canberra, Canberra, report prepared for Dr M.J. Brennan, Land Operations Division, DSTO, August 2002, vii + 69 including annexes, tables, graphs and diagrams.

The report identifies 161 bunker system attacks and categorises these according to whether the assault was by infantry unsupported (72 attacks), infantry supported by indirect fire support (68 attacks), or infantry supported by armour with or without additional indirect support (21 attacks). The report then compares and contrasts these attacks according to a number of factors including range of contact, duration of contact, expenditure of SAA and the loss ratio. The report found that the addition of armour to the combined arms team for the assault significantly improved the loss ratio for the Australians. The report was used by Army to support the acquisition of the Abrams tank.
Dr R. Hall and Dr A. Ross, ?Analysis of Australian Urban Engagements in Vietnam?, Australian Defence Studies Centre, UNSW Canberra, Canberra, report prepared for Dr Phil Davies, Land Operations Division, DSTO, May 2003, 113 pages including annexes, appendices, tables, graphs, maps and photographs.

Of approximately 4500 Australian contacts with the VC/NVA, the report could only identify 7 urban battles involving the Australian Task Force. The report studies these battles in detail and accounts for the reluctance of the VC/NVA to seek battle against the Australians in an urban environment.

Dr R. Hall and Dr A. Ross, ?Ambush and Attack Incidents Involving the Australian Army in Vietnam?, Australian Defence Studies Centre, UNSW Canberra, Canberra, report prepared for Dr Paul Gaertner, Head, Task Force Modernisation, Land Operations Division, DSTO, September 2003, ix + 104 pages, including annexes, tables, graphs, diagrams.The report shows that the ambush was by far the most common form of contact with the enemy for 1ATF. It identifies 808 ambushes and compares these with patrol encounters, bunker system attacks and defensive contacts according to a range of factors including range of engagement, duration of contact, benefit of achieving the first shot, expenditure of SAA and loss ratio. The report shows that of the various modes of contact, ambushes produced the most favourable loss ratio.

This report examined the command and control arrangements, mobility, problems and limitations, enemy reactions to, effectiveness, and ammunition expenditure of indirect fire support used by 1ATF. It's focus is mainly upon artillery support but it also addresses mortar and air support.

Dr R. Hall and Dr A. Ross, "The Effectiveness of Combined Arms Teams in Urban Terrain: The Battle of Binh Ba, Vietnam 1969, and the Battles of Fallujah, Iraq, 2004", prepared under DSTO Research Agreement, Ref: 2006/1175725 for Land Operations Division, DSTO.This report examined the effectiveness of the combined arms team in the battle of Binh Ba (Vietnam, 6-7 June 1969) using primary source documents, and the battles of Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004 using the secondary sources then available. The study examined infantry and armoured TTPs for the assault in urban terrain and also considered the role of artillery and air power.
Dr R. Hall and Dr A. Ross, "Historical Soldier Load Carrying Study", prepared under DSTO Research Agreement, Ref: 2006/1175885, for Land Operations Division, DSTO.

This study showed that the soldier's load increased over the course of the Vietnam War. It accounted for the reasons for this increase. It showed that there was little prospect of reducing the soldier's load in Vietnam by cutting back on rations/water or the field equipment each soldier carried. These components of the load were already pared to the minimum. However the weapons/ammunition load offered the prospect of reducing the weight carried if soldier lethality could be improved. Components of soldier lethality were examined and shots/weight of shots fired per casualty inflicted were calculated.

Dr R. Hall and Dr A. Ross, "Study of the Structures, Arms and Approaches to the Employment of Fires of the Australian Rifle Section in South Vietnam, 1966-1971 (The Rifle Section Study), dated 20 Jun 2008, prepared for Andrew Coutts, Land Operations Division, DSTO.We examined the structure of the Australian rifle platoon during the Vietnam War and examined the combat effectiveness of the sub-section (2-3 men), the rifle section (7-10 men), the half-platoon (about 12-15 men) and the rifle platoon (up to 35 men). The report accounted for the chronic undermanning and assessed combat performance for each of the above groups according to variables including enemy force size, combat task (i.e., whether patrol encounter, ambush, bunker system attack, etc.) and other factors.

Bob Hall and Andrew Ross, "Kinetics in counterinsurgency: Some influences on soldier combat performance in the 1st Australian Task Force in the Vietnam War", Small Wars and Insurgencies, Vol. 21, No. 3, September 2010, 498-518.